From Booklist
Five years after psychologist and administrator Harl Young had a heart-valve implant, he suffered a stroke. Rehabilitation worker Ruth, who lived with him, offers a highly personal account of the effects of the stroke on the couple, their friends, and colleagues. The shock of seeing the outwardly oriented, thoughtful Harl turn into a selfish, uncommunicative adult child drove Ruth to internal questioning and loss of self-worth. Moreover, the inconsistency of those changes made her life even more difficult, and when she suffered a brain tumor and an ensuing operation that left her with bouts of dizziness, she and Harl seemed to have hit bottom. Just in time, outside help and VA disability income enabled Harl to move into his own apartment and Ruth to live alone. Both still spent time together and traveled a bit before his death. Ruth's memoir testifies to the remarkable resiliency some persons can muster. William Beatty
